AMD's Console Liaison Jumps Ship, Washes Ashore at Nvidia

Bob Feldstein, a name you're probably not familiar with, worked behind the scenes at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) getting the company's chips into game consoles, including securing deals to use AMD hardware in all three next-generation console devices from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. He was a pretty important figure at AMD, joining the Sunnyvale company when it acquired ATI six years ago, and now he's taking his talents to Nvidia.

A report in The Wall Street Journal details what can only be considered a coup for Nvidia, and yet another painful loss for AMD, which has seen an exodus of top level management in recent years. Mr. Feldstein's departure perhaps stings worse than most. It's because of him that AMD's hardware is, and will continue to be (at least for one more generation) prominent in modern game consoles, a sector Nvidia would very much like to rule.

Nvidia didn't have much to say on the matter, telling WSJ it hired Mr. Feldstein "to help us think through current and possible future technology licensing products." While it was his decision to jump ship, Mr. Feldstein said he left AMD on "amicable terms."